THERE’S no doubt LeAnn Rimes has earned her place as a coach on ITV’s The Voice.
The 42-year-old singer landed her first record deal at just 11, and by 14 she was the youngest person to win not one, but two Grammy Awards in 1997.
With over 40 chart hits and 45 million record sales worldwide, she knows more than most what it takes to make a star. “I feel like I’ve got a lot to offer,” she says.
“I was so young when I got into this business and I started in such an adult world, but I didn’t really have a lot of mentors that walked me through things.”
And despite being the only woman on the talent show’s panel – which features veteran coaches Sir Tom Jones and will.i.am, as well as fellow newcomers McFly’s Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones – LeAnn has had no problems settling in.
“I love being the only girl,” she admits.
“I love the boys, they took really good care of me. I grew up around men on the road touring when I was a kid. I have always been kind of a guy’s girl. I’ve had the best time with them.”
She says: “I didn’t really know anyone on the panel personally, but we just clicked. I had heard of McFly, but I’d not met them before, whereas will.i.am and I knew each other in passing.
“With Sir Tom, I met him when I was 15, backstage at Top Of The Pops and I hadn’t seen him since. It was nice to reconnect with him. Sir Tom has so many stories – he’s the best.
“He’s been [performing] for 60 years – I’ve been doing it 31 years and I think that is a long time! But all of us are seasoned veterans and I think it shows – we know how to make TV.”
The Voice is now in its 13th series and LeAnn particularly loved the blind audition round, in which the coaches sit with their backs to the singers, focusing on their voice and only turning around if they think they are good enough to be on their team.
“It was so iconic to sit in that big red chair,” she says.
“For me, it’s always about the emotion. I’ll turn if someone gives me chills or makes me cry. People can hit great notes, but it’s that extra something – that’s when I know I need to turn.
“It’s so hard not turning for people – I feel absolutely awful. When we watched the episodes back, I was crying the whole time, thinking: ‘I’m so sorry’.
“You can’t always get it right. But I still get told ‘no’ all the time and I don’t let it derail me. I believe in myself. You have to build up that kind of confidence in this business. But it’s rough.”
Being in the public eye is not easy at any age, but LeAnn was still a child when she hit the big time.
It was only while helping raise her actor husband Eddie Cibrian’s two boys – Mason, now 21 and Jake, 17, who he shares with ex-wife Brandi Glanville – that she realised how much of her own childhood she missed out on.
I still get told no all the time, but I don’t let it derail me
“I was young,” she admits. “Too young? It was just my journey, I can’t change it. Would I recommend it to anybody? No, absolutely not. At the time, I didn’t think I was that young – it wasn’t until my stepsons hit those ages that I realised how young I was. It put it into perspective for me.
“My life was very abnormal. I don’t remember a lot of my teens, it was such a whirlwind. I even recorded a duet with Elton John at 15.
“At the time, I was like, ‘Cool!’ and I’m looking back now like: ‘Oh my god, that was pretty amazing’. I just didn’t have the context.
“There’s a part of me that wishes I had that traditional high-school experience. But I look at my stepsons going to high school, and it’s not all that, so I’m good!”
LeAnn seems incredibly grounded – so how did she avoid going off the rails like other ‘90s child stars, such as Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan?
“Oh no, I didn’t avoid it,” she admits. “I mean, I did [go off the rails]. I definitely had my breakdowns, just like any human does. You go through those dark times in your life and you grow from them, hopefully – and I did. Look, I have plenty of trauma from being in this business. You’re gonna have it, whether you’re a child or not.
To the record industry, you are a product. That has not changed
“But there were just no cameras [back then]. It’s way worse now with social media, you can’t get away from it – everybody’s on their camera phone.
“People say on the show: ‘What do you tell these new artists?’ I’m like: ‘Don’t do it.’ I’m kidding, but you have to be prepared that it’s not [all] glitz and glamour. It’s hard work, you need a thick skin, and you’re still going to have disappointments.”
Camera phones aside, does she feel there is more protection and care in place for young stars nowadays?
LeAnn shakes her head. “No, I really don’t think it has changed at all,” she says.
“Ultimately, the [record] label is there and you are a product, at the end of the day. I don’t think that kind of mentality has changed.
“Although, people are more afraid of being called out for bad behaviour, whereas in the past, they could get away with a lot. It’s more about fear than actually wanting to protect young girls.”
LeAnn with Voice judges Sir Tom Jones, will.i.am, Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones[/caption]
While LeAnn might have avoided controversy in her teens, she was caught up in a scandal during her first marriage to chef Dean Sheremet.
The pair had been together for eight years when LeAnn had an affair with her now-husband Eddie, who she met while making the film Northern Lights in 2009.
His wife of eight years, Brandi, filed for divorce after their relationship was revealed.
In June 2010, LeAnn spoke about it, saying: “What happened is not who I am. But I do know how much I love him. So, I’ve always said I don’t live my life with regret. I can’t.”
The pair married in a small ceremony in April 2011, but didn’t bury the hatchet with Brandi – who starred in The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills – until during the pandemic, when they all celebrated Mother’s Day together.
Reflecting on how they got to that point, LeAnn says: “It takes a long time. The kids were two and six when I first met them.
“They were young and it took a good three or four years to settle into things. And then, when people stopped writing crazy s**t about us, it was finally like we could just live quietly.
I loved Coyote Ugly, but I never expected it to be that successful
“People aren’t following us all the time any more. It’s been a really long time, but it also feels like yesterday at the same time. But I think we have earned it.”
Eddie has accompanied LeAnn on our shoot, and it’s clear the pair are still head over heels in love 15 years after getting together.
“For sure [it was worth it]. Obviously there was purpose [to how they got together],” she says.
“We have a great life.” And do the happy couple ever consider bringing back their 2014 reality show, LeAnn And Eddie?
“Absolutely not,” she says, adamantly. “We do sometimes recreate it on Instagram. You can share and you don’t need cameras following you 24/7. I think people get more of our personalities now from the stupid s**t that we post,” the singer laughs.
While LeAnn might not have got to have her own high-school experience, her music did have a huge impact on millions of teenage girls, largely thanks to the 2000 smash-hit movie, Coyote Ugly.
LeAnn provided the vocals for the movie’s main character, Violet, as well as the much-loved theme song Can’t Fight The Moonlight, which shot to No.1 in the charts and became the 55th bestselling song of the Noughties in the UK.
She says: “People tell me they still watch Coyote Ugly at least once a month, because it’s always on TV. I loved the music for the film, but I never expected it to be as successful as it has been.”
LeAnn even makes a cameo in the movie, dancing on the Coyote Ugly bar at the end. “It’s so cute,” she smiles.
“I was so young. I was 17, and that was my first time being in a film like that. Having to dance sexy on a bar was very odd – I was just so not ready for that! I was still finding myself and figuring out how to move, I wasn’t even old enough to go to bars. The only way I was dancing on top of bars at that time was in a film!”
It’s clear that LeAnn is now at the stage in her life where she is more motivated by the things she wants to do, rather than what will help her professionally.
“I think that you realise in your 40s how short life is,” she says.
“I’m just like: ‘F**k it’, pleasing other people is not worth my time. It all boils down to: ‘Am I happy? Is there joy in my life?’ Otherwise, why do it?
I’m like f**k it – pleasing other people is not worth my time
“I am happy. I make the music I want to make. That’s where I am at right now. I’ve recorded songs in the past that I knew would be radio hits [but] I don’t sing them any more, because I did it for the wrong reasons. In my late 20s I just decided like, I can’t do that any more.
“I actually released a chant record in 2020 and I’m working on my second one. I create candles and I have chants to go along with them, like saying a mantra. I’ve got a million other different ideas…
“I’m going to start working on a gospel album, I want to do a dance record – we’ve already started that a little bit. I’ll also be working on another studio album at some point.
“So, there are a lot of different things, and it’s like: ‘Oh, what floats my boat these days?’”
Although her attitude to making music has changed, LeAnn still looks as fresh-faced as when she started out. Does she worry about ageing?
“Trust me, I do all the things to make sure that I can prolong my youth as much as I can,” she says.
“I have a facialist in LA. She’s like a wizard, I don’t know what she does. She has kept my face lifted for the last eight years.
“I have not injected a thing into my face because of her, and I swear she is the best. But I have all the gadgets at home. I have every tool known to man, and I think it is about what you fuel your body with, too.
“So yes, I care, but I’m not super-obsessive about it. I like ageing. We’ve earned it. I think: ‘Thank god, we’re still here’.”
In the make-up chair with LeAnn
What are your skincare heroes?
Allies Of Skin sent me a whole regimen, and I’ve been using it for about four weeks. I’m obsessed, because I can really see a different texture to my skin.
What are your make-up bag essentials?
I love Haus Lab Concealer and Hourglass Volumizing Glossy Balm. I really like Kosas, too – the bronzer is amazing.
Who is your celebrity beauty icon?
Elle Macpherson, she’s aged, but she’s done it well. She is so inspiring to listen to and has a wise head on her shoulders.
What do you splurge on?
The one thing I want but don’t have, as it is so expensive, is a Lyma Laser. It’s about £2,500.
Describe your beauty evolution.
I look at photos and I’m like: “What was I thinking?” My mum put so much hairspray on me. I’m more comfortable in my skin now – I’m willing to try things and have fun.
- Watch The Voice UK, Saturdays, 8pm, ITV1 and ITVX.
